Apparatus for controlling flow of waste liquid into a pneumatic liquid disposal system

ABSTRACT

Waste liquid is discharged pneumatically into a liquid sewage or disposal system through a discharge conduit from the outlet of a vessel which receives such liquid from sanitary conveniences. A body in the vessel, which is capable of floating in the liquid therein, is drawn by suction toward the outlet when the liquid falls to a first low liquid level above the outlet, so that flow of air from the vessel into the system will be prevented. The floating body is removed from the outlet by mechanism in the vessel when the liquid therein rises to a second higher level, so that liquid will be withdrawn pneumatically from the vessel.

United States Patent 1 1 [111 3,760,837 Amren Sept. 25, 1973 [541APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING FLOW 3,055,387 9/1962 Eagar 137/423 x 01:WASTE LIQUID INTO A PNEUMATIC 3,181,553 5/1965 Liljendahl... 137/236 X3,381,706 5/1968 Hendey 137/423 LIQUKD DISPOSAL SYSTEI 3,633,610 l/l972Hellqvist 137/398 [75] Inventor: Jan Vilhelm Amren, Sollentuna,

Sweden Primary ExaminerMartin P. Schwadron [73] Assignee: AktiebolagetElectrolux, Stockholm, Assistant EXami'1erDaVid Matthews S dAltorney-Edmund A. Fenander 22] Filed: Nov. 18, 1971 Appl. No.: 200,018

[57] ABSTRACT Waste liquid is discharged pneumatically into a liquidsewage or disposal system through a discharge conduit from the outlet ofa vessel which receives such liquid from sanitary conveniences. A bodyin the vessel, which is capable of floating in the liquid therein, isdrawn by suction toward the outlet when the liquid falls to a first lowliquid level above the outlet, so that flow of air from the vessel intothe system will be prevented. The floating body is removed from theoutlet by mechanism in the vessel when the liquid therein rises to asecond higher level, so that liquid will be withdrawn pneumatically fromthe vessel.

10 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of theInvention In pneumatic liquid disposal systems sewage liquid and wasteliquid flows from sanitary conveniences to a vessel which may bereferred to as a septic or receiving tank. Since such liquid isdischarged pneumatically from the outlet of the vessel, a valve isrequired at the outlet for controlling the flow of liquid therefrom.

2. Description of the Prior Art It is not possible to use conventionalfloat valves to control flow of waste liquid into pneumatic liquiddisposal systems from the outlets of receiving tanks due to cloggingproblems that arise and always are encountered. For this reason it hasgenerally been the practice to employ specially constructed valves whichare located outside the vessel and controlled by mechanism within thevessel which functions in accordance with rise and fall of liquidtherein. Since it is of utmost im- SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION My inventionrelates to valve structure which is disposed entirely within thereceiving tank or vessel and includes a floating body that functions asa valve member and is drawn by suction toward the outlet of the vesselwhen the liquid falls to a first low level which is above the outlet andsubsequently is removed from the outlet when the liquid rises to asecond higher level.

The floating body moves into airtight sealing relation with the outletat a time when the liquid level is above the outlet, so that flow ofunwanted air into the pneumatic liquid disposal system will beprevented. In this way the partial vacuum developed and maintained inthe system to propel waste liquid therethrough from the receiving tankswill not be impaired. Mechanism in the vessel, which is operativelyassociated with the floating body, functions to remove the floating bodyfrom the outlet when the liquid rises to a second higher level. Whenthis occurs liquid again will be withdrawn pneumatically from the vesseluntil the liquid falls to the first low level. i

I have found that clogging problems are prevented when the floating bodyis drawn by suction to its closed position at the outlet of the vesseland then pulled from its closed position by a force which acts againstsuch suction and is developed by the rise of liquid in the vessel to asecond higher level. In the preferred embodiment illustrated anddescribed hereinafter I employ structure for producing theaforementioned force which includes a part capable of floating in theliquid in the vessel and an elongated flexible member respectivelyconnected at its opposite ends to the floating body and to a memberwhich forms a component of said structure and to which movement isimparted by the floating part thereof with rise of liquid toward thesecond higher level.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING In the drawing FIG. 1 is a verticalsectional view more or less diagrammatically illustrating structurewhich controls the flow of waste liquid into a pneumatic liquid disposalsystem and embodies my invention to prevent flow of unwanted air intothe system; and

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken at line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In FIG. 1 I have shown myinvention in connection with a pneumatic sewage or liquid disposalsystem for controlling the flow of liquid into the system through adischarge conduit 10 having its inner end connected to an outlet 11 of aliquid receiving vessel 12 which may be referred to as a septic tank.The pneumatic sewage or liquid disposal system is maintained underpartial vacuum which may be one-half of atmospheric pressure, forexample, in any suitable manner.

The vessel 12 receives waste liquid from a plurality of sanitaryconveniences located, for example, in a kitchen, laundry and bathroom.Liquid flows through a conduit 14 to an inlet 15 of the vessel 12 fromthe outlets of such sanitary conveniences, one of which isdiagrammatically illustrated at 16.

A body 17 is provided in the vessel 12 which is capable of floating inthe body of liquid 18 therein. The floating body 17 in a broad senseserves as a valve member. When the liquid surface in the vessel 12 fallsthe floating body 17, due to the fact that it floats in the body ofliquid 18, also will fall at the same rate that the liquid surfacefalls. Since the liquid withdrawn by suction from the vessel 12 throughthe discharge conduit 10 moves toward the outlet 11, such movement ofthe liquid induces the floating body 17 to move toward the dischargeconduit 10 and the bottom part of the floating body, which is in theform of a sphere, will be near the outlet 11 as the liquid levelapproaches a first low liquid level 19.

With a partial vacuum prevailing in the discharge conduit 10 when it isconnected to a pneumatic sewage or liquid disposal system, the bottompart 17a of the floating body 17 will be drawn by suction against theoutlet 11 in airtight sealing relation therewith. In this way the bottompart 17a of the floating body 17 will be held fast to the outlet 11 whenthe liquid in the vessel 12 falls to the first low liquid level 19 andbefore any air in the vessel 12 can flow therefrom into the dischargeconduit 10 and pass into the pneumatic sewage or liquid disposal system.

In accordance with my invention I provide means operable to remove thebottom part 17a of the floating body 17 from the outlet 11 responsive torise of liquid in the vessel 12 to a second higher liquid level 20. Whenthis occurs liquid again will be drawn pneumatically from the vessel 12through the discharge conduit 10. Such means comprises structure 21which includes a part 22 capable of floating in the same body of liquid18 as the floating body 17. The floating part 22 is carried at the outerfree end of a lever 23, the inner end of which is pivotally connected at24 to an upright channel member 25 which is fixed to the side wall ofthe vessel 12 in any suitable manner and U-shaped in horizontal section,as shown in FIG. 2.

The opposing sides of the channel member 25 are provided with verticalrows of aligned openings 26 to receive a threaded bolt 27 which passesthrough an opening at the inner end of the lever 23 and receives atightening nut 28 to provide the pivotal connection 24. The lever 23 hasan upturned inner section 23a with the bolt 27 passing through theopening formed in the upper end thereof. With this construction theinner section 23a of the lever 23 functions as a stop to limit clockwisemovement of the lever 23 and downward movement of the floating part 22at the outer end thereof. An angle member 29, which is fixed to theupper end of the channel member 25 and vertically adjustable thereon inany suitable manner (not shown), is in the path of movement of the lever23 and serves as a stop to limit counterclockwise movement thereof.

Upward movement of the lever 23 effected by the floating part 22 istransmitted to the floating body 17 by an elongated flexible member 30,such as a rope, for example, having its lower end connected to thefloating body and its upper end connected to the lever 23 at one of aseries of openings 31 therein. By employing the flexible member 30 as aconnecting means the floating body 17 and floating part 22 arerelatively movable with respect to one another.

In view of the foregoing, it will now be understood that the structure21 is provided with a number of adjustments. First, the lever 23 can bepivotally mounted at 24 to the channel member 25 at different levelsthereon and hence is vertically adjustable within the vessel 12. Second,the upper end of the flexible elongated member 30 can be fixed to thelever 23 at different distances from the pivotal connection 24 dependingupon the particular opening 31 on the lever to which the upper end ofthe elongated member is fixed. Third,

the effective vertical length of the elongated member 30 can be adjustedby pulling more or less of the member through an opening 31 in the lever23 before it is fixed thereto. Fourth, the angle member 29, which servesas a stop, can be adjusted vertically on the channel member 25 todetermine the upper angular position of the lever 23 and in this wayprevent it from moving counterclockwise to such an extent that it tendsto remain in a vertical position.

The floating body 17 comprises the bottom part 170 in the form of asphere and an elongated top part 17b of cylindrical form having a cover170 fixed thereto which is removable. The bottom part 17a desirably isformed of an elastomeric material like rubber or plastic, for example,which is resilient and hence enhances its ability to form an airtightsea] at the outlet 11 when it is drawn thereto by the suction in thedischarge conduit 10.

By removing the cover 170 the top part 17b of the floating body can beloaded with additional weight to increase the weight of the floatingbody and make it sink deeper into the liquid 18, thus increasing thevolume of liquid it displaces. In this way the floating body 17 canassume different vertical positions in the liquid 18 which can beregulated by varying the overall weight of the body and the quantity ofliquid it displaces.

Since the bottom part 17a of the floating body 17 is in airtight sealingrelation with the outlet 11 when the liquid 18 falls to the first lowlevel 19 in the vessel 12, it will be evident that the level 19 can beadjusted by 1 varying the overall weight of the body and the verticalposition it assumes in the liquid 18. The floating body 17 desirably iselongated and its vertical length substantially exceeds the diameter ofthe discharge conduit 10. The second higher liquid level 20 can beadjusted readily by raising or lowering the pivotal connection 24 of thelever 23 on the vertical channel member 25.

In FIG. 1 the first lower liquid level 19 is represented by a solid lineand the bottom part 17a of the floating body 17 is in airtight sealingrelation with the outlet 11 of the vessel 12. Under these conditions thelever 23 is in its lowest position shown in solid lines in FIG. 1 andthe elongated flexible member 30 is not taut. With waste liquid beingreceived by the vessel 12 through the conduit 14 the liquid level in thevessel gradually becomes higher and higher until it reaches the floatingpart 22. When this occurs the floating part 22 gradually displaces moreand more liquid and will rise to impart upward movement to the lever 23.

The elongated flexible member 30 is of such length that it will almostimmediately become taut or tight when initial upward movement isimparted to the lever 23. When this condition is produced with the lever23 in such position that the elongated flexible member 30 becomes tautor tight, the bottom part 17b of the floating body 17 is held fast tothe discharge conduit 10 by suction due to the partial vacuum prevailingin the discharge conduit. As further upward movement of the floatingpart 22 and lever 23 occur with rise of liquid level in the vessel 12,the force holding the bottom part 17a of the floating body 17 at thedischarge conduit 10 will be counteracted by the pulling force developedin the elongated flexible member 30.

When this pulling force overcomes the force holding the bottom part 17aof the floating body 17 at the discharge conduit, the bottom part 17athereof will be released from the inlet end of the discharge conduit 10and the floating body 17 will move rapidly upward to the liquid surface20. In this way the distance or gap between the discharge conduit 10 andthe floating body 17 increases quickly when the discharge conduit 10becomes open at the outlet 11 of the vessel 12. Under these conditionsthe danger of the discharge conduit 10 becoming clogged is avoided. Whenthe floating body 17 ascends to the liquid surface in the body of liquid18, the lever 23 moves counterclockwise toward the stop 29 and thenreturns to its dotted line position in FIG. 1 with the floating part 22buoyed up by the liquid at the second higher liquid surface 20.

With liquid flowing through the discharge conduit 10 from the vessel 12the liquid level therein will fall so that the floating part 22 andlever 23 to which it is fixed will assume their solid line positions inFIG. 1. Subsequently, the floating body 17 will move toward the outlet1] of the vessel 12. During such movement of the floating body 17 it isconstantly rotating. Due to such rotation of the floating body freshsurfaces of the bottom part thereof will always coact with the outlet 11of the vessel 12 and be brought into airtight sealing relation with theoutlet when the liquid surface falls to the first low liquid level 19.Since the bottom part 17a of the floating body is held fast to theoutlet 1 l by the suction prevailing in the conduit 10 when the liquidreaches the first low liquid level 19, which is above the outlet 11,unwanted air in the vessel 12 cannot flow into the discharge conduit 10.

If desired, the inner end of the discharge conduit 10 can be providedwith a sleeve formed of a resilient material like rubber, for example,which serves as guiding means to guide the spherical bottom part 17a ofthe floating body 17 toward the outlet 12 and coact therewith to providean airtight connection therebetween.

The valve structure embodying my invention possesses the advantage thatthe floating body 17 thereof, that is, the part that seals the inlet endof the conduit 10, is very light. Hence, the forces which are producedwhen the inlet end of the discharge conduit is closed by the floatingbody 17 and directed toward a side wall of the vessel 12 cannot causeany damage. This is not true of convenit'onal valves which not only arecomplex but also unduly heavy which tends to restrict their use in manyinstallations in the field.

I claim:

1. The combination with a liquid disposal system which is adapted to bemaintained at a partial vacuum, of

a. a vessel for holding a body of liquid, said vessel having an inlet toreceive liquid and an outlet adapted to be connected to the system forwithdrawing liquid pneumatically from said vessel,

b. a body in said vessel which is capable of floating in the body ofliquid-therein,

c. said floating body being so constructed and formed that, when theliquid in said vessel falls to a first low liquid level, said floatingbody will be drawn by suction toward the outlet in airtight sealingrelation therewith, so that flow of air from said vessel into the systemwill be prevented,

d. a part in said vessel which is capable of floating in the same bodyof liquid as said floating body,

e. means connecting said floating body and said part, said connectingmeans being so constructed and arranged that said floating body and saidpart are relatively movable with respect to one another, and

f. structure comprising said part and said connecting means for removingsaid floating body from said outlet responsive to rise of liquid in saidvessel to a second higher liquid level whereby liquid will be drawnpneumatically from said vessel.

2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 in which said connecting meanscomprises an elongated flexible member,

3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 2 in which said structure includes alever, said lever being vertically movable within said vessel by meansproviding a pivotal support at one end thereof, said floating part beingcarried by said lever at the other outer end thereof, and the upper endof said elongated flexible member being connected to said lever.

4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 3 in which said lever is soconstructed and formed that the upper end of said elongated member canbe connected to said lever at different regions thereof between saidfloating part and said means providing the pivotal support therefor.

5. Apparatus as set forth in claim 3 which includes stop means limitingdownward pivotal movement of said lever.

6. Apparatus as set forth in claim 5 which includes means whereby saidmeans providing the pivotal support at one end of said lever can beshifted vertically in said vessel.

7. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 in which at least a part of saidfloating body is in the form of a sphere.

8. Apparatus as set forth in claim 7 in which at least the part of saidfloating body in the form of a sphere is formed of elastomeric material.

9. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 in which said floating body ishollow, said floating body holding material which can be introducedtherein and removed therefrom and serves to weight said floating bodyand regulate the quantity of liquid in said vessel displaced by saidfloating body.

10. Apparatus as set forth in claim 9 in which said floating body is ofelongated form and has a major axis and a minor axis, said major axisbeing longer than the diameter of the outlet of said vessel.

UNKTED STATES PATENT @FFKCE CERTEFEQATE @F @QRRECTEQN Patent No,3,760,837 dSeptember 25, 1973 lnventofls) Jan IVilhelm Am-r It iscertified that error appears in the above-identified patent and thatsaid Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

On the cover sheet insert [30] Foreign Application Priority DataNovember 26, 1970 Sweden 16005/70 Signed and sealed this 26th day ofFebruary 1974.

(SEAL) Attest: I

EDWARD M.PLETCHER',JR. MARSHALL DANN Attesting Officer missioner ofPatents FORM PO-105O (10-69) UscoMM-Dc mafia-P69 n u.s. GOVERNMENTPRINTING OFFICE I969 o-ass-su,

1. The combination with a liquid disposal system which is adapted to bemaintained at a partial vacuum, of a. a vessel for holding a body ofliquid, said vessel having an inlet to receive liquid and an outletadapted to be connectEd to the system for withdrawing liquidpneumatically from said vessel, b. a body in said vessel which iscapable of floating in the body of liquid therein, c. said floating bodybeing so constructed and formed that, when the liquid in said vesselfalls to a first low liquid level, said floating body will be drawn bysuction toward the outlet in airtight sealing relation therewith, sothat flow of air from said vessel into the system will be prevented, d.a part in said vessel which is capable of floating in the same body ofliquid as said floating body, e. means connecting said floating body andsaid part, said connecting means being so constructed and arranged thatsaid floating body and said part are relatively movable with respect toone another, and f. structure comprising said part and said connectingmeans for removing said floating body from said outlet responsive torise of liquid in said vessel to a second higher liquid level wherebyliquid will be drawn pneumatically from said vessel.
 2. Apparatus as setforth in claim 1 in which said connecting means comprises an elongatedflexible member.
 3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 2 in which saidstructure includes a lever, said lever being vertically movable withinsaid vessel by means providing a pivotal support at one end thereof,said floating part being carried by said lever at the other outer endthereof, and the upper end of said elongated flexible member beingconnected to said lever.
 4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 3 in whichsaid lever is so constructed and formed that the upper end of saidelongated member can be connected to said lever at different regionsthereof between said floating part and said means providing the pivotalsupport therefor.
 5. Apparatus as set forth in claim 3 which includesstop means limiting downward pivotal movement of said lever. 6.Apparatus as set forth in claim 5 which includes means whereby saidmeans providing the pivotal support at one end of said lever can beshifted vertically in said vessel.
 7. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1in which at least a part of said floating body is in the form of asphere.
 8. Apparatus as set forth in claim 7 in which at least the partof said floating body in the form of a sphere is formed of elastomericmaterial.
 9. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 in which said floatingbody is hollow, said floating body holding material which can beintroduced therein and removed therefrom and serves to weight saidfloating body and regulate the quantity of liquid in said vesseldisplaced by said floating body.
 10. Apparatus as set forth in claim 9in which said floating body is of elongated form and has a major axisand a minor axis, said major axis being longer than the diameter of theoutlet of said vessel.